title: Models of light propagation in human tissue applied to cancer diagnostics.
abstract: Optical methods such as reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy are being investigated for their potential to aid cancer detection in a quantitative, minimally invasive manner. Mathematical models of reflectance and fluorescence provide an important link between measured optical data and biomedically-relevant tissue parameters that can be extracted from these data to characterize the presence or absence of disease. The most commonly-used mathematical models in biomedical optics are the diffusion approximation (DA) to the radiative transfer equation, Monte Carlo (MC) computational models of light transport, and semi-empirical models. This paper presents a review of the applications of these models to reflectance and endogenous fluorescence sensing for cancer diagnostics in human tissues. Specific examples are given for cervical, breast, and pancreatic tissues. A comparison of the DA and MC methods in two biologically-relevant regimes of optical parameter space will also be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040, USA.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: M-A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mycek
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D017785:Photons; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*